Support Kelley Williams-Bolar the Ohio mother arrested for illegally putting her kids in a suburban school.
by Jeff Johnson on Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 8:50am
Please check out this mornings TJMS Commentary and support the mother arrested for illegally putting her kids in an Ohio suburban school.
Good Morning. Just last week I talked about what parents and communities can do to prepare for their kids going back to school. Well I take back everything I said if you live in the state of Ohio. Because being a parent willing to do anything for your child in Ohio will not be viewed as a redeeming quality by the powers that be. Just ask Kelly Williams-Bolar, the mother of two girls who illegally placed them in a Copley-Fairlawn School just a few miles from her home in Akron, Ohio. Williams-Bolar gained national attention when her decision to remove her girls from their neighborhood school in a district that ranks in the bottom 10 percent, landing her in jail for fraud.
This mother, by her own account was not just concerned with the academic performance of the low performing school her kids were in and the fact that the suburban school she was illegally putting them in was ranked as one of the best in the state. Her home had recently been broken into, and the new school was not far from her father’s home; a place where she felt comfortable leaving her children when she was in school herself pursuing a degree to teach special needs children.
While thousands of parents came to the aid of the Williams-Bolar, empathizing with the reality of the tough position active and responsible parents face in many urban communities, the fact is that she did break the law. But what IS the punishment that equals THIS crime? In the case of wealthy parents that do the same thing, they are normally required to pay back dollars as restitution, but seldom is there a felony charge that goes along with it. Let me do you one better. In a Rollingout Magazine story yesterday, writer Kathleen Cross wrote,
“The offensive irony in this story is that as this mother was sitting in jail serving her sentence, President Barack Obama spoke these words to loud applause in his January, 2010 State of the Union Address: “The question is whether all of us — as citizens, and as parents — are willing to do what’s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed. That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It’s family that first instills the love of learning in a child.”
And this mother who broke the law to instill not only a love of learning, but to try to give her daughters a fighting chance, served ten days in jail and completed over 80 hours of community service. And even after this…A September 2nd Ohio Parole Board would not grant a pardon to Williams-Bolar, forcing her to deal with a felony record as she attempts to continue to provide for her children. This would make all the more difficult her desire to receive a license to work with special needs young people after she completes her degree this year. This does not seem conducive to the crime. Furthermore it would create a dangerous precedent for parents in poor-urban areas looking for loopholes to better educate their children.
I do not believe that we should help people, even those in need to break the law. However, to permanently cripple the earning potential of a mother who proved she was operating in the best interest of her children AND who actually paid a dept for her crimes should not be condoned by conscientious citizens. This illustrates the need for all of us to fight for our schools and communities so that we create the kind of environments that people are not willing to break the law to get out of. That is the real travesty and one we are all responsible to change. But in the meantime, we as a community should support sister Kelley, whose fate now lies in the hands of Ohio Governor John Kasich, who is the only one who can now grant a pardon.
I would ask that you reach out to the Governor with me and POLITELY and I mean POLITELY (as the Governor has done nothing wrong in this case) express your support for the pardon of Kelley Williams-Bolar. Call (614) 466-3555 and simply say, "I am calling to support the pardon of Kelley Williams-Bolar. Thank you for your consideration.” Family….please support the spirit of those willing to go above and beyond to help their children when so many believe that parents in low performing districts don’t care. Fight with so many others that want to make poorly performing districts better. Push for those that do care to fight within the law, and hold accountably those that break it. However, don’t destroy those who fight for their babies. Call Gov John Kasich at 614-466-3555 and tell him, “I am calling to support the pardon of Kelley Williams-Bolar. Thank you for your consideration”.
Thank you for your action TJMS family. You can make a difference at home and in Ohio. Pick up the phone and work in your home community today.
I'm Jeff Johnson and That’s My Truth
Good Morning. Just last week I talked about what parents and communities can do to prepare for their kids going back to school. Well I take back everything I said if you live in the state of Ohio. Because being a parent willing to do anything for your child in Ohio will not be viewed as a redeeming quality by the powers that be. Just ask Kelly Williams-Bolar, the mother of two girls who illegally placed them in a Copley-Fairlawn School just a few miles from her home in Akron, Ohio. Williams-Bolar gained national attention when her decision to remove her girls from their neighborhood school in a district that ranks in the bottom 10 percent, landing her in jail for fraud.
This mother, by her own account was not just concerned with the academic performance of the low performing school her kids were in and the fact that the suburban school she was illegally putting them in was ranked as one of the best in the state. Her home had recently been broken into, and the new school was not far from her father’s home; a place where she felt comfortable leaving her children when she was in school herself pursuing a degree to teach special needs children.
While thousands of parents came to the aid of the Williams-Bolar, empathizing with the reality of the tough position active and responsible parents face in many urban communities, the fact is that she did break the law. But what IS the punishment that equals THIS crime? In the case of wealthy parents that do the same thing, they are normally required to pay back dollars as restitution, but seldom is there a felony charge that goes along with it. Let me do you one better. In a Rollingout Magazine story yesterday, writer Kathleen Cross wrote,
“The offensive irony in this story is that as this mother was sitting in jail serving her sentence, President Barack Obama spoke these words to loud applause in his January, 2010 State of the Union Address: “The question is whether all of us — as citizens, and as parents — are willing to do what’s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed. That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It’s family that first instills the love of learning in a child.”
And this mother who broke the law to instill not only a love of learning, but to try to give her daughters a fighting chance, served ten days in jail and completed over 80 hours of community service. And even after this…A September 2nd Ohio Parole Board would not grant a pardon to Williams-Bolar, forcing her to deal with a felony record as she attempts to continue to provide for her children. This would make all the more difficult her desire to receive a license to work with special needs young people after she completes her degree this year. This does not seem conducive to the crime. Furthermore it would create a dangerous precedent for parents in poor-urban areas looking for loopholes to better educate their children.
I do not believe that we should help people, even those in need to break the law. However, to permanently cripple the earning potential of a mother who proved she was operating in the best interest of her children AND who actually paid a dept for her crimes should not be condoned by conscientious citizens. This illustrates the need for all of us to fight for our schools and communities so that we create the kind of environments that people are not willing to break the law to get out of. That is the real travesty and one we are all responsible to change. But in the meantime, we as a community should support sister Kelley, whose fate now lies in the hands of Ohio Governor John Kasich, who is the only one who can now grant a pardon.
I would ask that you reach out to the Governor with me and POLITELY and I mean POLITELY (as the Governor has done nothing wrong in this case) express your support for the pardon of Kelley Williams-Bolar. Call (614) 466-3555 and simply say, "I am calling to support the pardon of Kelley Williams-Bolar. Thank you for your consideration.” Family….please support the spirit of those willing to go above and beyond to help their children when so many believe that parents in low performing districts don’t care. Fight with so many others that want to make poorly performing districts better. Push for those that do care to fight within the law, and hold accountably those that break it. However, don’t destroy those who fight for their babies. Call Gov John Kasich at 614-466-3555 and tell him, “I am calling to support the pardon of Kelley Williams-Bolar. Thank you for your consideration”.
Thank you for your action TJMS family. You can make a difference at home and in Ohio. Pick up the phone and work in your home community today.
I'm Jeff Johnson and That’s My Truth
0 comments:
Post a Comment